Stephen Curry received a special call after leading the Golden State Warriors to victory over the Boston Celtics during the NBA Finals, Sports Illustrated reports. Former President Barack Obama reached out to Curry, who he plays golf with, to congratulate him on his big victory and to crack a few jokes.
In a clip of the phone call shared by the Warriors, Curry appears to be emotional after hearing from Obama. He then thanks him for reaching out, and notes what a journey it’s been to acquire the team’s fourth NBA championship.
“Thank you so much, man,” he said in the clip. “You know, from the last time I saw you, just how far away this actually felt. Man, this was special. This was special, I appreciate you.”
Curry pauses and lets the former POTUS share what many assumed were wise, guiding words. But the basketball player busts out laughing after hearing Obama crack a joke.
“I wish I could say that! I wish I could say that on TV! Aw, man. Absolutely, what they gonna say now? Nothing. All they could say is it’s golf season,” Curry said with a chuckle.
Despite considerable odds, Curry played an extraordinary game, CNN reports. His performance made him the fourth player in NBA history to average at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists in multiple NBA Finals. He also was responsible for 29.7% of the Warriors’ 629 points scored in the finals, NBA reports. That effort earned him his first MVP Finals award.
Obama also shouted out Curry on Twitter, writing how proud he is of him and the Warriors for the well-deserved victory.
“With four championships in eight years, the @Warriors leave no doubt of their place as one of the NBA’s greatest dynasties,” he wrote. “Congrats to Finals MVP Steph, Draymond, Klay, Coach Kerr and the rest of Dub Nation for such sustained excellence.”
Curry talked about the victory after the game.
“What they gonna say now?” he told Andscape’s Marc Spears after the game. “[You] hear all the talk about you as a player and us as a team, nobody outside of the Bay Area thought we would be here last October when the season started. Me as a player, obviously this Finals MVP stuff and all that, knew [we were] good enough to win three championships before.”
He continued, saying that having “the opportunity to go for a fourth (championship), and to accomplish this goal, too, God is great. Just happy I got to do it.”
According to the NBA, Curry, along with the rest of the Warriors, celebrated their big win at a championship parade in San Francisco on Monday.
